


words can't warm the windows of my soul.

by paleromantic



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, Kissing, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Post-Canon, andrew is living on his own, emotional support dog, lots of fluff, pro career, yes this is my dog shut up i love her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-11-24 20:24:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18169514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paleromantic/pseuds/paleromantic
Summary: “Andrew, loneliness is a perfectly normal emotion to have after moving away from loved ones. Have you spoken to Neil about this?” Andrew’s answering silence was telling, Neil had been busy though, wrangling the new Foxes into a semi-functional team now that the last of the original Foxes were gone and he was the only stronghold left. He didn’t have time to deal with Andrew’s difficulty settling in, no matter what his therapists said. “Oh, Andrew.”There was some rustling, like she was sorting through papers. It was still work hours- Andrew had probably interrupted her. “Have you thought about getting a pet?”Andrew almost laughed. “A pet? I’m a little old for a goldfish don’t you think?”





	words can't warm the windows of my soul.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi so Chelsea is my dog and she deserves to be loved by the minyard-josten household and now all of you, thank you for reading!

Andrew had read somewhere that the first year of a long distance relationship was the hardest, and despite himself he couldn’t help but agree with that. It was probably in one of the articles that Nicky had provided both him and Neil with after Andrew’s graduation, after Andrew had had to move to his new apartment in New York to start the pre-training session for his first season playing pro. After he had had to leave Neil behind in South Carolina to lead the Foxes to victory one last time. 

The apartment was small, but comfortable, and it had been funded by the last of Neil’s little safety padding in the bottom of his old duffel bag. That had been one of their first proper arguments, but it had been quickly resolved when Neil had dug his heels in resolutely and reminded Andrew that he would be able to pay him back soon enough anyways. Andrew intended to, even if it was by finding Neil an apartment closer to whatever pro team won his favour at the end of the year. The little voice in Andrew’s head that tended towards the grossly sentimental reminded him that it would probably be whatever team was closest to Andrew, but he ignored it like he usually did. If Bee was there, she would have told him not to ignore it, but to maybe allow himself to believe that Neil actively wanted to be around him. Luckily, Bee wasn’t there to call him out on it anymore. She was only a phone call away, she had assured him, but somehow that didn’t feel the same as sitting across from her every week to discuss whatever had been eating away at Andrew’s precious mental stability. 

It was cold when he came home from practice, too. The heating was good once it really kicked in, but it took it’s sweet time doing that. Neil would have loved it; He always loved the cold, loved shoving his cold feet under Andrew’s thighs and making him jump, laughing at the glare that he was given afterwards. 

With a blanket over his legs though, and the fire lit, Andrew found that he missed the cold a little.

He didn’t need Neil to survive, far from it. He had been alive on his own far before Neil Josten can crashed into his life, and he would be just fine without him, but that didn’t stop him from missing the man. Neil had carved himself a space in Andrew’s life, and it was odd getting used to all of the extra space again, not having Neil beside him in the morning when he woke up. Of course, Neil was just a phone call away, just a plane ride away, but it wasn’t the  _ same _ . The silence was suffocating without Neil, without Kevin and Aaron and Nicky. Andrew hadn’t been truly alone in a long time, and even though his family had done little more than annoy him for the most part- although, that had changed in the last couple of years of their college degree- he was finding it oddly difficult to settle himself without their background noise. 

The new therapist that Bee had recommended for him in New York said that it was healthy to be lonely, that he would get  _ used  _ to the all-encompassing silence of the apartment and that he just needed to give it a little more time. He was right, but that didn’t stop Andrew from calling Bee right after to talk about it with her too. He trusted her opinion- the woman had been more of a mother to him than anyone else had ever been.

“Andrew, loneliness is a perfectly normal emotion to have after moving away from loved ones. Have you spoken to Neil about this?” Andrew’s answering silence was telling, Neil had been busy though, wrangling the new Foxes into a semi-functional team now that the last of the original Foxes were gone and he was the only stronghold left. He didn’t have time to deal with Andrew’s difficulty settling in, no matter what his therapists said. “Oh, Andrew.”

There was some rustling, like she was sorting through papers. It was still work hours- Andrew had probably interrupted her. “Have you thought about getting a pet?”

Andrew almost laughed. “A pet? I’m a little old for a goldfish don’t you think?”

He felt Bee roll her eyes from states away. “I meant an emotional support dog, Andrew. They can help a lot- with both loneliness and your usual bad days.”

Andrew thought about it. He hadn’t had a truly bad day since he had moved up, kept too busy with training and moving and dealing with all of the adult things that he had to do now that he was living alone in a big city. “You think that it would help?”

Bee’s smile was evident in her voice. “I really do, Andrew. Think about it? You can discuss it with Neil, too.”

Andrew huffed. “I will. Goodbye.”

“Talk to you soon.” 

Andrew hung up, and then turned the kettle on, groaning as he pulled himself up onto the counter to grab a mug. Neil would have made a joke about how short he was, to which Andrew could only roll his eyes. Neil was only a couple of inches shorter after all, and Andrew had  _ seen  _ him scale the counters in the dorms to grab his stupid healthy granola off the shelf where Nicky always left it as a joke. Those in glass houses shouldn’t throw stone, and Neil was most definitely in a glass house when it came to height. Then, he pulled his open laptop towards himself, pulling up a new tab and typing a couple of words in before browsing the results. A dog wasn’t really that bad of an idea, and the apartment  _ did  _ allow pets. A dog would be a lot more hands-on than a cat too- it would require more effort to take care of, which would help Andrew to pull himself out of his head when he got lost. He was used to taking care of things, of people. A dog would let him take care of something again, something a lot healthier than he was used to.

He found a number, and then took out his phone, dialling it and pressing the screen to his ear.

 

* * *

 

It was an easy process, when it all came down to it. After a quick phone call from bee, his new therapist had written him a letter of recommendation for an emotional therapy dog, and he had been able to go down to the shelter and pick out a dog for himself before taking her home and registering her online. It only cost around 75 dollars, and he even stopped for ice cream on the way home. It was a good day. 

Once she was in the car, the dog sat in the foot space in front of the passenger seat, her head resting happily on the seat and her eyes closed. Andrew watched her for a moment, and then leaned over to scratch her behind the ears. Her name was Chelsea and she was a three year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier, white with black patches and big brown eyes. The person in the shelter had said that she was a friendly dog, properly house trained, and that she wouldn’t be any trouble for him. Andrew wouldn’t have minded anyway, even if she was..

While he was in the shop, he grabbed some dog treats from the back wall, and a couple of tins of dog food. He’d be able to stock up properly the following day after practice, but for now this would have to do her. 

“I got the beef and gravy. Is that alright with you?” 

Chelsea just tilted her head and then plopped her head down on the seat again. Andrew took that as a yes.

 

* * *

 

“What’s the surprise you were talking about, babe?”

Neil put his bags down in the hallway and then looked around- He hadn’t visited the apartment since during the summer, he had been too busy with the season and their holidays just hadn’t lined up, but Thankgiving was a good time for both of them. They were both given time off, so Neil had booked the plane tickets and he would be spending the best part of a week in Andrew’s apartment with him. Andrew had told him that there would be a surprise there too, a recent development that he hadn’t told Neil about. 

Andrew came back out of the kitchen, and Neil widened his eyes when an adorable dog bounded out on his heels and ran right over to Neil, jumping up to put her paws on his thighs. 

“You got a dog?” Neil looked up at Andrew with a grin. “She’s adorable, Drew.”

Andrew hummed, and then picked up Neil’s bag, carrying it through the sitting room to the bedroom that they would be sharing and leaving Neil with the dog in the hallway. After a few seconds, Neil lifted her off his thighs before leading her into the sitting room, sitting down and letting her jump up onto his lap. 

“Is she allowed on the couch?” He called into the other room, grinning as she licked his cheek roughly. 

“Will that stop her?” Andrew reemerged from the bedroom, and then sat on the couch. “She goes where she wants.”

“Since when were you a dog person?” Neil smiled and scratched her ears, kissing her forehead before letting her walk off his lap and go to shower Andrew with affection. It was a sight almost too cute for Neil to handle, and he bit his lip. 

Andrew let her settle herself on his lap, and then shrugged. “Chelsea is an emotional support dog, Bee thought that she would help me to settle in easier.”

“Does she? Help you to settle in easier?”

Andrew nudged her off his lap, and she padded into the kitchen where he bed was, nestling herself into the blankets there. Neil scooted closer on the couch and almost took her place, laughing softly when Andrew wrapped his arm around him. “Yeah, she does.”

“I’m glad then.” Neil kissed him on the cheek and then nuzzled his nose into the area of skin between Andrew’s ear and his jaw. “I love you, even if you are replacing me with a dog.”

Andrew rolled his eyes. “Lack of brain cells is not an attractive look Josten.”

“You like it, though.” Neil smirked. “You love me, remember?”

“And I regret it every day.” Andrew muttered, which wasn’t a denial. Neil laughed, and then leaned into the kiss that Andrew went for. Then, he felt a cold wet touch on his hand and he yelped, falling off Andrew’s lap. 

“Fuck, Chelsea you scared me.”

The dog wagged her tail harder and then jumped up onto the couch, letting Neil manoeuvre her until he was pressed up against Andrew’s side and the dog was sprawled over their laps. She wriggled, and then rested her head down against Andrew’s hand, nudging it until he started to pet her. 

Neil chuckled. “She’s got you well trained, Drew.”

“Oh fuck off.”


End file.
